Thank you, Ellie! I do have the shortcoming of making the decisions on my own and then saying, "This is what I'm going to do" when I should be discussing the situation with my husband to make the decision together.

Thanks!

Aubrey, yes he is. It's not that he doesn't want me to, at least, that's not what he said. He just kind of hemmed and hawed when I mentioned it. Considering that HE was the one to first suggest it, before we even had kids, I asked him why he did. He said it was because his mom was so pro-homeschool. She and his dad had helped found a very small, private Christian school and his older sister was, at the time, homeschooling her kids.

:iagree: I'm so proud of you! We cancelled our cable several months ago. While the first couple of weeks you may very well go through withdrawal, you will soon find yourself finding other things to do. My children now play with each other more and my dd finally reads more on her own initiative! :hurray: You WILL survive the transition, I promise! :thumbup:

I am sorry for your loss. That is always difficult.

I really miss homeschooling. We put our dd in ps this year because, at the beginning of the school year, dh asked me to go back to work. I did find a temporary job. That has since ended and, presently, I do not need to work. In fact, I asked dh to please NOT ask me to go back to work unless we absolutely needed the income. At any rate, I really prayed about homeschooling for the upcoming school year. My dd will be in 5th grade and ds will be in Kindergarten. Well, my dh was not supportive, and after much more prayer, I feel as though I should put dc in the ps for one more year. However, *I* feel kind of 'out of sorts' about this. I know that I would enjoy, for a time, having the day 'to myself' but, at the same time, I see what's happening in the public schools, and am not thrilled. I guess maybe I'm looking for a 'banner from God' that says, "Yes, I said put your kids in public school for now." LOL I don't know. Thanks for reading my rambling!

Saxon worked well for my dd and she still enjoys math. Yes, there IS a lot of drill and review but, if your child doesn't need it, there's no hard and fast rule that says you HAVE to do it all. When I realized my dd actually understood the lesson I might have her just do every other problem on the worksheet. I will say that I did enjoy the SHORTER lessons starting in 54. Before 54, the lessons seemed to take an hour. Starting with 54, they take about 10 minutes IF the student grasps the concept quickly. We didn't use alot of manipulatives with it. If we did, we used regular coins we already had or other household items. And I did buy a set of patterened blocks that we still use to this day (about 4 years later). HTH somewhat!

A friend of mine is using Around the World in 180 Days, which takes you through each of the seven continents in a year's time. While I realize you probably don't want a full year's curriculum, it may benefit you to glance through it. You might also want to go to the library and looking at some of the Travel Guides available. They are full of information on the histories, climates, people, etc. HTH!

I stopped having yard sales, too. Too much effort for not enought gain. Give what you can to people you know could use it. The rest, itemize and donate it. You will feel less stress and much RELIEF when it is GONE! (And this will happen much more quickly than if you hold it all for a yard sale.)

I personally LOVE Gilbert Morris' novels! He has some others that aren't historical fiction, as well. I do like the House of Winslow books. Maybe because sometimes I feel more 'at home' with that time period? 8^) But maybe you should read one from the library before you order.

Have things improved at all? You are definitely in my prayers!

I did this recently for my birthday. I went up to WY and visited my best friend. She doesn't have kids and her husband just said, "Go have fun!" and we did! But I would also like to go on a scrapbooking retreat sometime. Who's game? LOL Seriously, it is vitally important that moms get some 'me time.'

As a child I was an introvert but now I an extrovert. Go figure! Anyway, despite my shyness, in grade school I was more interested in everyting that WASN'T academic. That was true through most of my education. By college, I was definitely more extroverted and it was still difficult for me to concentrate on my studies! Anyway, I think the right thing may be to ask your friend if she would be receptive to what you can tell her from your experience. She'll let you know whether or not she wants help. Or she may not. But Bless YOU for being concerned for her!

Ooo, what do you have? I might be interested in some!

Maybe we can compare notes this year! :^) We have homeschooled the eldest before, but that was when the little one was just a baby! Now that the youngest is jumping at the gun to start school it'll be a different scenario all together. As I was putting together a rough outline of WTM schedule, I see where a lot of 'folding in' can be done with the my ds. I just wonder if anyone has BTDT.

That is so COOL!

Not sure if this question should be posted here or in the General Discussion forum, but here it is: -Do any of you just have 2 kids, about 6 years apart? I'm asking because this is my situation. This fall my daughter and son will be 11 and 5, respectively. My daughter is currently in ps but I'm seriously considering bringing her back home for school, for a myriad reasons. Anyway, she will be in 5th grade and the little one will be a Kindergartener. How do I most efficiently teach the two? Any insight?

I take it your oldest is at least 4th or 5th grade? Have you considered a different curriculum? Maybe one that's more 'flexible?' Or have you thought that perhaps you're not allowing yourself to have fun teaching? The Trivium can be intense but it can also be exciting. Allow yourself to have fun with it. And maybe you need to schedule a break for yourself, as well as for your kiddos, more often than you have been. It's very easy to want to 'check off the boxes' of what's been accomplished each day, week, etc. But maybe you need to let your kids ask the questions they want to ask about every subject instead of saying/thinking, "We don't have time; we need to move on." I don't know if any of that applies to your situation but it's what I've observed in some others'. Hopefully it has helped you somewhat! :^)

Thank you for the reminder! As I sit here reading this, I currently have my 10yo dd in ps and my 4yo ds is home with me. I think too often he and I are running off to do what 'mommy "needs" to do' when we could be enjoying the zoos or multiple museums we are so fortunate to have nearby! Plus, as I plan on bringing my dd back home for school next year, I know she will do better with some 'breaks' here and there. So thank you for reminding me that we should take time to enjoy what is around us!

Such wonderful ideas! May utilize a few of them myself!

I am so glad I 'stumbled' upon this thread! My 10.5yo dd is currently in public school but I'm seriously thinking of pulling her out to homeschool next year. She is in 4th grade and is SO unmotivated. I've done what I can to help her get her homework done and correct but, sometimes, she either doesn't want to correct it or 'forgets' to tell us about what homework she does have. Through reading this thread I've been challenged (perhaps convicted?) to do a better job of helping her to a better job. Thank you all for your insight.

Personally, I am a Grammar and Punctuation Princess. My mother is a Grammar Queen and her sister is the Grammar Duchess. I mention the geneology so that you understand some of my background. That being said, I am a stickler for precise grammar and punctuation. We've only read through SOTW Vol. I but I saw no glaring faults, either. Both my dd and I enjoyed the way it read and dd really liked the Activity Book. We both learned quite a bit from it! So, ignore the naysayers and believe all of us who have really read the book! :0)

Just wondering if anyone had done Sonlight then WTM or vice versa? I like them both! I've used Sonlight and am contemplating going with WTM as a spine this next year. However, I really do NOT like to do lesson plans. Any suggestions (brought from your own experiences)? Thanks!

Depends on how long the thread is. If there are just a couple of entries, I'll read through them all. However, if the thread is more than a couple of pages long, I'll read a few entries, and then respond. And I don't worry about what other people think...most of the time. If it seems my response is 'off', I will clarify...maybe.

Well, I'll have to look up those "parenting partnerships" to see what that's all about! However, let me just say, I understand some of what you feel. So, I will tell you that, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause...er...um, wrong Virginia. Anyway, yes, Virginia, other people DO homeschool their children 100%. And there are those of us who have realized that next fall the 4yo must go to preschool a couple of days a week so we can concentrate on our very distractible other child.